A Voice for Drew
by HecateA
Summary: It was quite a leap from sweetheart child who didn't say a word to controlling, possessive siren. But it was a very logical and clear journey.


**Hello! So this has been going around my head for a while now, and it's about time I put it up. It might have a second part, depending on the time I have and if you guys want a clearer picture of the fine-tuning of Drew's nature, but technically the story can end here. Let me know in the reviews what you think. I have been trying to pierce through and write a satisfying piece on this character since The Lost Hero, and I think that this is it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters shown below or their fictional world.**

* * *

**A Voice for Drew**

Miss Louise knelt in front of her and smiled nicely. Nicely as in really- it was a real smile. The kind that grown-ups didn't really smile.

"Hello Drew," she said kindly. "It's really nice to meet you. My name is Miss Louise. I'm going to be one of your teachers this year."

Drew tightened her grip on Dad's pants and nodded to say 'yes'.

"I'm a kind of specialist called an SLP," Miss Louise said. "That stands for Speech-language pathologist, which is a real fancy word to say that I'm going to try and help you talk this year. Is that alright?"

Drew nodded.

"Are you excited to start first grade or would you rather stay at home and hang out?" She asked.

Drew nodded again. Which didn't mean anything as an answer…

"Why don't we leave your daddy here, and you and I can have a tour of the school?"

Drew looked up at her father. He smiled at her and nodded, so Drew nodded too. Miss Louise offered Drew a hand, and so she took it. Her father stayed in the school's office and she walked away with her new teacher-to-be.

There was nobody in the school. Daddy had told her that it wouldn't start for another two weeks, she just got to see the school before everyone else. Drew knew why- because she was retarded. She chewed on the sleeve of her white shirt and watched as the few adults who were working walked around, laughing to each other and exchanging cups of coffee.

"I like your skirt," Miss Louise said. "I bet that purple's your favourite colour."

Drew nodded, and Miss Louise took her to see the library and meet the librarian, Mr Brian; and then the gym to meet the gym teacher Mrs. Phoebe. She didn't talk to either of them.

* * *

Today Miss Louise was going to show her the music and arts room.

"Do you like this room, Drew?" She asked.

Drew nodded.

"It's my favourite too. I think I like it even better than I like our classroom."

She said _our _classroom like she and Drew were a team.

"Miss Teresa is going to teach this class," Miss Louise said. "She said that we could look around if you'd like, and even use some of her supplies. Fun, eh?"

Drew bee lined for the piano. This morning Sakura had told her to stop playing because she wanted to listen to the news, so now Drew wanted to make up for it.

"Can you play piano?"

Drew nodded as she pulled the bench closer to the instrument. Her arms were short, she was only six to be fair.

"Your dad mentioned that you'd been playing for a long time. How old were you when you started?"

Drew didn't say anything. This wasn't a yes-or-no question. How was she supposed to answer?

She just played the piano instead. She only knew one piece by heart and she couldn't play all of them because her fingers were small and not fast enough yet, but she was pretty good.

Miss Louise clapped when she was done.

"Wow Drew, you're _very _good." Miss Louise said. "What's the piece called?"

It came out on its own.

"The Twelve Variations of _Ah, vous dirais-je maman_ by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart." Drew blurted out exactly what was written in all of her piano books.

Miss Louise smiled and Drew turned red like a tomato and the classroom was very hot all of a sudden, like it was flying right towards the sun.

"I'm glad you told me," Miss Louise said softly. "Thank you. Do you know any other pieces?"

Drew shook her head.

"Sorry?" Miss Louise asked.

"No," she said quietly. She was so red and hot and stuffy, she wanted to start crying.

Miss Louise knelt next to her and put a hand on her knee.

"Well I think that in twenty years you'll be the one writing great pieces like this," her teacher said. "Honestly."

After that it was easier to talk to Miss Louise.

* * *

"Hello Drew," Miss Louise smiled. "Today we're going to visit our classroom. Your teacher, Miss Katherine, and I have finally put all the posters up, so it looks good for you. Come with me."

Drew nodded. Daddy kissed her on the head and gently unwounded her hands from the fabric of his pants.

"Have a nice visit angel," he said smiling. Daddy had a very nice smile. He told her that that was why he'd caught her mommy's eye. Then Sakura would pipe up and say that that was why he'd caught her eye too. His smile made his face shine up and the corners of his eyes crinkled up, like shirts that weren't folded right, behind his glasses.

"I like your skirt sweetheart," Miss Louise said. She was wearing the same purple skirt as on the first time she'd seen Miss Louise because it was her favourite. "Is purple your favourite colour?"

"Yes." Drew said. "That's why my headband's purple too."

"Yes, and it's very pretty." Miss Louise said. "Are you going to have purple binders this year? Is that the colour you told your daddy to buy them in?"

"I didn't tell him," Drew said. "But yeah my binders are going to be purple."

"Awesome," Miss Louise said. "Do you know what you're going to study this year?"

"First grade stuff," Drew said.

"Yes, but what kind of stuff?"

"I don't know." Drew said.

"Well there's math, and English and even a bit of Spanish. Do you speak Spanish, Drew?"

"No. But I speak Japanese."

"Can you? What a clever little girl you are." Miss Louise said. Drew smiled.

"My daddy speaks Japanese. And so does Sakura. He met her because he teaches people to speak English on Tuesdays and Friday nights and he taught her."

"Is Sakura your stepmother?" Miss Louise asked.

Drew nodded.

"Do you speak Japanese with her?"

"I don't speak to Sakura." Drew said.

"You don't, eh?" Miss Louise said. "Why not?"

Drew didn't say anything. '_I can't' _got lost in the bottom of her throat.

"Alright, well here's our class."

She pushed the door open and held it open as Drew walked in.

Miss Louise showed her where they would hang their backpacks and even their coats in the winter. There was even a special shelf for their lunchboxes- and Drew's name marked the spot where her lunchbox would go. Miss Katherine had written down 'Drew Takana' in very fancy script. The classroom had a bit less posters than her kindergarten class had had, but a window more that let a lot of sunshine in. There were a lot of desks in it and they were pushed against each other so four people sat together.

A woman walked into the class. She had a long brown ponytail with grey streaks like comet tails. Her eyes were kind and brown like the cocoa powder Daddy made his best brownies with.

"Hi Drew," she said. "I finally get to meet you, don't I? Lucky me, it's wonderful to meet you."

Drew wanted to say 'you too' but she couldn't.

Miss Katherine knelt in front of Drew. There were crinkles around her eyes –like the ones that Sakura was always worried about getting. But they didn't look ugly. They looked like extra smiles around her eyes. Or maybe picture frames that made you focus on the pretty colour. Drew didn't know what the problem with extra smiles was, but apparently everyone but Miss Katherine saw one. It must be because she was stupid that Drew had no idea- that's how most things were.

Miss Katherine shook her hand and asked her questions. She looked really nice and she sat right next to Drew even though adults never sat on the floor. Sakura said it was 'immature'. Miss Katherine looked very sophisticated and mature on the floor with her extra smiles though. Drew wished she could talk to her, but that wasn't happening. She could tell.

Eventually Miss Katherine said that she didn't want to disturb Drew's pre-tours, so she left the class.

"Do you like her?" Miss Louise asked once the door closed.

Drew waited until the footsteps left off to start talking again.

"A lot." Drew said.

"So you'll be okay this year?"

"I hope so."

Miss Louise let Drew find her place. She was sitting next to Bradley, a really mean boy who pushed her in kindergarten and would probably push her this year, Simone who had tried to cut Drew's hair with scissors and Maggie who was Drew's friend.

"Is that too far from the board for you?" Miss Louise said.

Drew shook her head. "It's perfect Miss Louise."

"Thank you Drew," she smiled. "And do you think that you'll be able to talk to everyone at your table?"

"Only to Maggie," Drew said.

"Really? Why is that?"

"I don't know." Drew said shrugging. "It just happens."

"Mmm," Miss Louise said. She wasn't quite looking Drew in the eyes when she talked, she never did, and that made her easier to talk to. "And does it happen at home?"

Drew didn't say anything. She didn't want to talk about it.

"Okay, how about I show you the reading corner too?" Miss Louise said. They went off to see that.

* * *

At supper that night, Daddy and Sakura were talking. Daddy was telling her about something that had happened at work and she laughed and laughed and laughed. Daddy talked with his hands too, and he was such a good storyteller even though Drew didn't understand what he was talking about because it was about work and other gross grown-up stuff.

"Drew, did you tell Sakura about your new classroom?" Dad said.

Drew thought that it was silly how he always said that. Of course she hadn't. But that was how it always started when he was going to help Drew explain what she'd seen.

"I'd love to hear about it," Sakura said in a sticky-sweet voice.

"Was it a small tiny classroom like the broom closet?" Daddy asked.

Drew shook her head.

"Was it a big, big, _big _classroom that could hold twenty elephants?" Dad asked deepening his voice to say 'big'.

Drew giggled and shook her head.

"How many elephants could fit in your classroom?" Daddy asked.

Drew lifted up five fingers.

"Five elephants," Sakura said, twirling her spaghetti around her fork. "Wow."

"What colour were the walls?" Daddy asked. "Purple?"

Drew shook her head.

"Ah, so it can't be your favourite class." Daddy said.

Drew nodded that yes it was.

"What colour were the walls?"

Drew pointed to the tablecloth.

"Creamy beige taupe-like?" Daddy nodded. "Did it look good?"

Drew nodded.

"Did they have posters on the wall?"

Drew nodded.

"What about windows? How many of those?"

Drew held up a lot of fingers.

"_Ten _windows?" Daddy asked crossing his arms.

Drew laughed and showed five fingers.

"Five windows, that sounds right." Daddy nodded. He rubbed his hand on her hair. "My silly little girl."

Drew smiled and ate some more spaghetti.

* * *

On the first day of school, Miss Katherine took attendance. Kids raised their hands and said 'here' or 'present' or even 'president' (if they were funny) when their names were called.

"Olivia St-Jean?" She asked.

"Here," Olivia said raising her hand.

"Drew Takana?"

Drew raised her hand but she didn't even open her mouth.

* * *

Miss Louise sat down with Drew.

"We're going to play a game," she said. "Is that alright?"

"Yes," Drew said. They were alone in a room with lots of computers called the computer lab.

"While we're going to play the game, Sakura is going to stand in the hallway just outside the class, alright?"

"Why?" Drew asked holding her breath. "Why is she here?"

"Because what we're going to try to do, is have her come closer and closer to us while we play our games, okay? That's a therapy called 'sliding in'. It won't all be today, but we want to try and see if maybe you can get used to hearing her voice a bit at a time. Does that make sense?"

Drew didn't know if she liked the idea.

"We can try, how's that?" Miss Louise said. "Okay? Sakura can't hear us for today."

"Okay," Drew said softly.

"Great," Miss Louise smiled, taking the top of the box off. "How do you like Shoots 'n Ladders?"

* * *

In the schoolyard, Drew and Maggie were playing in the sandbox, drawing tic-tac-toe grids with their fingers. Maggie kept wiping her fingers on her skirt because sand always went under her nails and she didn't like it. Drew's had purple nail polish over them, so it didn't matter.

"It's hot out," Maggie said. "I wish we could go inside."

Drew nodded vigorously.

"You're like a bobble head," someone called. She turned around and saw Bradley and Thomas who were best friends and then Jamie who was Thomas' little twin brother who just followed around all the time.

Drew put an X on the tic-tac-toe grid. You were supposed to ignore bullies after all, and if there was a bully in the world it was Bradley.

"Hey," Bradley called again. "Bobble head."

Drew ignored him again. Besides, what would she do if she didn't ignore him? Bradley didn't read her whiteboard when she wrote things down for people to read. Bradley actually stole her whiteboard sometimes.

Maggie stood up and turned her hands into fists and put them on her waist.

"Go away." Maggie said. "Right now."

Bradley nodded, but he just kept nodding.

"Look, I'm like Drew." Bradley said. "I'm a bobble head."

Jamie and Thomas started laughing. Drew turned red and covered her cheeks and her mouth and her nose and as much as her face as she could with her hands.

"That's not funny," Maggie said strictly. She had tight blond curls and her eyes were blue like lakes and rivers. "It's rude. Go away now."

They didn't stop.

"I'm going to go get Mrs. Suzanne if you don't stop." Maggie said. "And I mean it."

Mrs. Suzanne was mean. She was so mean that the teachers didn't want her in the teacher's lounge so she was always the one walking around outside and watching them.

The boys shut up and went to go play soccer with the others.

* * *

She did 'sliding in' with Miss Louise five times. Now, Sakura was right next to the door and Drew wasn't very comfortable, but Miss Louise asked lots of questions and talked about music, and also about animals like tigers and lions so Drew _had _to ask questions.

She was telling Miss Louise about a movie she'd seen when she heard a door open. A man had come in through the opposite door, carrying stacks of papers. It was the fifth grade teacher Mr Francis and he'd heard her talk.

Drew was so startled and scared that she started crying and crying.

* * *

She was too afraid to go back to school, so Daddy took her to work with him the next day which was special.

Daddy made dresses for ladies who were getting married. His office was really classy and always so clean you could nearly see your reflection in everything. Drew got to sit on a chair right next to him all day as he drew in his special work notepad, and she drew in her special notepad too. He always asked her if she liked what he was drawing and she always nodded because Daddy was really good at his job. There were racks with dresses hanging off of them, and even a mannequin which was wearing a dress that Daddy was 'adjusting'. He was making a dress for a very famous superstar called Eva Solanges now, and that was it. There were lots of windows in Daddy's office, like in Miss Katherine's classroom.

He took her down to the cafeteria, which was also special.

He held her up and she put her hands on the little rail next to the sandwich bar, pushing her tray along. The chef asked her what she wanted on her sandwich and Drew panicked.

Daddy put a hand on hers and started pointing to things. She nodded or shook her head, and it took a long time and people looked at them like it wasn't normal, but Drew got her sandwich so that was all that was important in the end. Actually what was important at the end was that she got to be with her daddy for the day.

* * *

She was writing in the answers to multiplication tables down on her worksheet. Bradley was throwing paper pieces at her.

When she looked up he started nodding his head like a bobble head. Drew bit on her lips because when you bit on your lips you didn't cry. She knew.

* * *

It was a Saturday and so Maggie's mom wasn't working and they could play at her house.

They lived near the school in a big building with futuristic white furniture that was always really clean. Drew and Maggie were sitting on her bedroom floor, colouring in colouring books they swapped to each other whenever they had a play day.

"I wish that you could draw real stuff," Maggie asked. "Like, if you wanted a cake you could draw cake and it'd be right there and you could eat it."

"That would be so cool." Drew nodded.

"Are cookies alright?"

Maggie's mama walked in. She was a pretty woman with the same curls as Maggie except her hair was dark, dark, dark. Her eyes were the same colour as Maggie's though. She was tall and slender, because she was a ballet dancer, and she wore summer dresses and cardigans and no shoes all the time at home. She was holding a tray of cookies with glasses of milk.

"Yes!" Maggie cheered.

Maggie's mama pulled out a tiny plastic table up to them and put the cookies and milk there.

"You can even eat while you colour, how's that?"

"Very good," Maggie said. "Thank you mama."

"Thank you Mrs. Harper." Drew said.

"Not a problem girls," she said. "What are you two up to?"

"Colouring," Drew said. "Maggie's drawing birds and fish and animals but I'm better at drawing fairies and stuff like that. We switch papers."

"That seems fair," Mrs. Harper said. "As long as you two are having fun. I'll let you get back to your colouring. You have another, hmm, half an hour before Drew's daddy comes to pick her up, okay?"

"Okay," Drew said.

"Quick, we need to finish each other's pictures." Maggie said. "_And _eat cookies. We might not have the time."

They did have the time though, because they hurried and chugged their milk and didn't even dip their cookies. The doorbell rung and so Maggie hid Drew under her bed.

"Drew," Daddy called. "Hmm. Diane, did you lose my Drew?"

"Well no, I don't think I did." Mrs. Harper said.

Maggie was jumping on her bed when the two parents came in.

"Maggie, where's Drew?" Mrs. Harper asked. It didn't sound like much of a question, though. They did this every Saturday.

"Drew who?" Maggie asked jumping.

"Stop jumping on your bed sweetie, you'll break your mattress." Mrs. Harper said.

Maggie plopped down on her butt.

"Hmm," Daddy said. "Well, it doesn't look like she's here."

"You are definitely right on that, Jiro." Mrs. Harper replied.

Daddy sighed. "Oh well. It looks like I'll go get ice cream all by myself…"

Drew crawled out of the bed quickly.

"There she is!" Daddy said.

"Aww Drew!" Maggie said. "We had ice cream here that you could have had."

Drew smiled gingerly as Daddy put an arm around her and kissed her head, right on the headband.

"Did you have fun, angel?" Daddy asked.

Drew nodded. She couldn't say 'yes' anymore.

"So what do you say?"

Drew put her hand on her lips and dropped it down as if she was blowing a kiss. It meant 'thank you' in sign language. Drew knew a bit of sign language, because she could always use her hands if not talk.

"You're very welcome Drew," Mrs. Harper said. "Why don't you pick up your things and your daddy and I will go wait by the door?"

Drew nodded. Maggie helped her put everything in her backpack and kept chatting. Now that Daddy was there she talked very quietly, but she talked anyways because she wouldn't talk again until tomorrow when she had piano lessons with Mr Simon.

Drew and Maggie walked back to the door, and they stopped when they heard Mr Harper, Maggie's grandpa who lived with them, introducing himself to Daddy, wondering if they could go play again.

"You're Drew's father," he said.

"That would be me," Daddy said, "Pleased to meet you sir."

"Ditto… She's a really cute kid. A real charm."

"Don't I know it," Daddy said. Some people talked and you could hear smiles in their voices. Daddy was like that. He was smiling and Drew knew it without even standing next to him. Drew's stomach felt tight. He was smiling because he loved her. He loved her so much, and Drew couldn't even talk to him. It didn't seem fair.

"She doesn't talk a lot, does she?"

"Joseph," Mrs. Harper said as a warning.

"That depends who she's around," Daddy said. "She has a disorder called selective mutism. Depending on who she's around sometimes Drew can't talk at all. There's a kind of… a set of rules about who she can or can't speak to. She'll talk to her aid at school, to Maggie and her family, to her dance teacher, her piano teacher, one of her aunts, her grandparents… who am I forgetting? Oh, right, our building's doorman and sometimes random adults in stores and such."

"Not you?" Mr Harper asked.

Daddy didn't say anything for a second and Drew felt bad.

"No," Daddy said after hesitating for a second. "Not me. I'm not in her set of rules."

* * *

She was starting at the dance studio today, after having taken a break for the summer.

Kimberly was wearing her black leotard like she always did, and her georgette skirt which was long and pink and see-through like angel wings. It made Drew want to be a good dancer.

"Hello class," she smiled.

"Hello Kimberly." Everyone but Drew said.

Her teacher in kindergarten Mr Arthur had thought that Drew should 'get involved in extracurricular activities' and so Daddy had asked Drew what she'd like to do. She didn't want to play soccer, because people playing soccer were very loud and they cheered a lot. She didn't want to paint, because she didn't like getting paint all over herself. She liked piano, but apparently the 'extracurricular activity' should involve other people. So the principal Mr Hardy had suggested that Drew tried ballet, so now Drew danced every Wednesday night. That was how she'd met Maggie.

"Today we're going to review our positions from last year," Kimberly said. "Just to make sure everyone is on the same page. But not before stretching, right guys?"

Everyone nodded.

"Alright, so let's go at the bar and stretch our legs," Kimberly said.

* * *

She and Miss Louise were doing 'sliding in' again for the first time since Mr Francis had heard her. Sakura was right next to the door again, like last time. Drew couldn't get a word out of her mouth.

* * *

Daddy tucked her into bed. He kissed her forehead as she recapped her pen.

"Oh- not right now Drew," Daddy said. "I want to talk."

Drew didn't know what to say.

Dad smiled and pushed her bangs out of her face.

"Sliding in isn't working out, huh?" Daddy asked.

Drew shook her head.

"Is it Mr Francis who scared you?"

Drew shrugged.

"You don't know?" Daddy asked. "Who do you think?"

Drew didn't want to write it down.

"Alright," he said. "Do you think we should stop?"

Drew shook her head. She liked the time she spent out of class without Bradley making bobble-head faces at her.

"Cool," Daddy said kissing her forehead. "So what did you have for lunch?"

She drew a sandwich on her board.

"Nice," Daddy said. "Was it tasty?"

Drew nodded.

"What was in it?"

She drew some tomatoes and lettuce and cheese and ham.

"That does look tasty." Daddy said. "I made your lunch for tomorrow, okay? Your lunchbox is in the fridge. There's even a surprise in it for you."

Drew wrote down 'what?'

"Well I can't tell you that," Daddy said. "I'm not that bad at keeping surprises."

He kissed her hair. "The sooner you go to bed, the sooner you can wake up and go to school and find out. Love you angel."

She drew one last thing on her whiteboard before daddy turned the lights off- a big heart.

Daddy made a heart with his hands, and Drew returned the gesture.

* * *

On Monday Maggie wasn't at school, so Drew sat alone at the table with Bradley and Simone.

It was quiet reading time. Miss Katherine left the room for a few seconds to go make photocopies of their geography work. Drew heard Simone laugh and she looked up. Bradley was pretending to be a bobble head again.

Drew turned red and looked down at her book, but Bradley started talking.

"Look at me, I'm Drew," he said. "No wait- I can't be Drew. I'm _talking. _Not like Drew. Drew' s retarded."

A few people giggled and Drew turned even redder. She looked to her left at where Maggie should be sitting. Her throat felt like a big knot was stuck inside, halfway up and halfway down. Maggie wasn't there.

"Say something if you're not retarded Drew," Bradley said. "Say something."

Drew couldn't say anything. She looked down at her skirt. It was her favourite purple one, but Drew didn't feel like it was pretty or special. It was like her, it was retarded. Everything was retarded.

Bradley laughed. Thomas at the neighbourign table laughed. Jamie laughed once he realised Thomas had started.

"You're just a bobble head," Bradley said. "An ugly bobble head that's retarded."

Drew didn't even make a noise when she cried. _That's _how retarded she was.

* * *

Daddy carried her on his shoulders as they walked around Central Park Zoo.

"Where should we go next?" Daddy asked. He held up a map that they'd picked up at the entrance, and she pointed.

"The penguins," Daddy said. Drew showed him a thumb up to show that he had understood. "Excellent idea." That made her proud.

He put Drew back down on the ground and held her hand as they walked around. Drew had her backpack with her –she always did. In it she had her whiteboard, her markers, an eraser to wipe it, and glitter lip gloss that had come with a DVD she'd gotten for Christmas. There was also a piece of paper in which Daddy had written a letter that Drew could give to a teacher or a police officer or a store employee if she ever got lost that explained why she didn't talk and had his phone number on it.

They watched the penguins for as long as Drew liked, and then they went to see the snow monkeys.

They saw the snakes, and Drew held onto Daddy's leg the whole time because she hated them. But you had to walk by them to get to the frogs. He snaked his fingers up her arms like a snake and Drew kept gasping until he tickled her neck. He walked with her feet on top of his.

They also saw frogs that were very colourful but very dangerous to touch. Daddy couldn't spot some of the frogs in the other tank, so Drew had to point each of them out for them. After she took his hand and dragged him to another tank where there were fish.

She wrote down _Nemo._

"That's right," Dad said. "All the fish are just like Nemo! Are you like that little girl with the braces that comes in at the end, then?"

Drew wrinkled her nose and shook her head 'no' so much that her hair flew around. Daddy laughed and that made Drew feel good. At least she could do one thing that Sakura could- make Daddy happy and laughing.

They saw the sea lions and they kept doing flips and goofy things like running into each other, so Drew laughed a lot. They got ice cream before going back to the subway, and they sat on a bench to eat. Daddy kept imitating the sea lions so Drew kept smashing her nose into her cone and getting ice cream on her nose. She looked like a clown, but with a white nose. Daddy stood still when she put ice cream on his nose and then he laughed and pulled out tissues from his coat pocket so they could clean up.

"Come on angel, let's go home." Daddy said holding out his hand.

* * *

Drew sat on her chair in the hallway of the music school, holding her books to her chest with her whiteboard. Daddy was next to her, and he was playing Sudoku on his phone after asking her if she wanted to play checkers. They were at the school for Drew's piano lessons early because the subway schedule had changed for today because of reparations.

A girl with long blonde hair and pretty green eyes like a bottle walked into a music room with one of the teachers, Mrs. Hope Ann. A few minutes later there was singing that came out of the room. Very beautiful singing, like how angels were supposed to sing. Soft and delicate like a pop star on the radio too.

But it made Drew frown. Not because it was ugly. But when Drew was on her own and she sang for whatever reason, her voice didn't sound like that. She didn't know how to describe sounds very well, but Drew's voice was more… spicy. Come to think of it, it sounded strange and weird and unnatural next to the pretty singer's voice.

_Maybe that's why nobody wants me to talk, _she thought. _Maybe that's why my voice doesn't work right. Because it's spicy. _

* * *

There was an envelope on Drew's desk with her name on it. When she opened it she saw a picture of a really pretty backpack with a bunch of small patches on it, like the blankets that Grandmother made, and Tinker Bell smiling. There was pixie dust around her ankles. It was the coolest backpack Drew had ever seen _ever. _

Miss Louise knelt down next to her.

"Your daddy and stepmother are ready to make a deal with you," she said quietly so that Bradley didn't hear and make fun of her. "If you ask for this envelope really loudly –so loud that all the class can hear and understand you- they're going to get the prize inside for you. Sounds like a deal?"

Drew nodded but she started shivering.

"You don't have to try right away," Miss Louise said. "When you feel ready."

Drew nodded.

* * *

Drew asked if they could go to the zoo again and Daddy agreed. But this time Sakura came with them.

They were in the room with the snakes. Daddy tried to get Drew to stand on his feet so they could cross the scary hallway without her looking at them. She didn't. Sakura tried to soothe her. Daddy picked her up.

They looked at the fish in the tank.

"You noticed something about them last time we came," Daddy said nudging her shoulder. "Can you tell Sakura?"

Drew shook her head and buried her face in his knees.

"What about with your whiteboard?" Daddy asked rubbing her back.

Drew shook her head without looking away. Sakura clucked her tongue.

* * *

Mr Simon closed the door behind him and they were alone in the tiny classroom with the piano.

"How are you today?" He asked.

"Okay," Drew said. "Yourself?" Daddy taught her manners even if she barely talked.

"Good," Mr Simon said. "So today I thought we wouldn't look in your theories book and instead we could start working on Christmas songs."

"It's only November," Drew said.

"But you want a lot of time to practise, don't you Drew?" Mr Simon asked. "I remember your favourite from last year and I _think _that you're ready to play something that complicated now."

Drew gasped and smiled.

"Really?"

"Of course. You are one very good pianist Drew," Mr Simon said. "A natural. But if you want to play big songs you're going to have to practise an awful lot..."

"I can do that!" Drew cried. She just wanted to play more good songs. She could show Miss Theresa and Miss Louise and Daddy and Sakura if she'd let her use the piano. "I can practise lots- I will practise lots!"

* * *

She was ready to ask for the envelope with her name on it. It was on the corner of Miss Katherine's desk and Drew had been looking at it for a week.

She opened her mouth but nothing came out. She couldn't make herself talk.

"Now you're like a catfish bobble head," Bradley called out from his table.

Simone giggled and Drew closed her eyes, shivered, and looked down on her lap.

On second thought, she didn't need a new backpack. Hers had Tinker Bell buttons on it. That was good enough, right? Right.

* * *

She and Maggie were playing hopscotch on one of the hopscotch course that was painted on the ground in yellow. Audrey, Cassie, Mallory and Ruby were also playing. Mallory threw the stone up to '5' and hopped out onto the course.

That's when everything went 'pear-shaped' like Daddy always said. Bradley and Thomas and of course Jamie (since his brother had) had gotten in trouble in class for running with scissors for the millionth time, so they walked out to recess late.

The hopscotch course was right next to the doors.

Mallory gave Drew the rock they were using. "Here you go Drew."

Drew smiled to say thank you.

"I didn't know bobble heads could skip." Bradley called out meanly. Thomas snickered and Jamie snickered too, but too loudly and too much to be a good imitation

All the girls rolled their eyes and pursed their lips, but of course Maggie walked forwards.

"You know what Bradley, things were going really well until you got here. Stop making fun of Drew. There's nothing wrong with her."

"Right, it's okay to be a _bobble head. _You're not much better," Bradley snarled. "My mom said that it's a sin how you don't have a dad, but that your parents are the real sinners."

Maggie stepped back and her shoulders dropped. She wasn't sticking out her chest and balling her fists anymore. She wasn't even holding her head up high. She looked shocked and broken as if she'd just been slapped.

Maggie started crying. Audrey hugged her.

"My dad died in the military he didn't leave," she sobbed. "It's not anybody's fault."

And it made Drew mad because nothing that Bradley said was true at all. It was actually really mean and inconsiderate and stupid and he had just hurt _her _best friend. The person who always talked. The person who always stood up for Drew. He had made _that _person _cry. _

Drew felt like she was so angry she'd turned red. She marched forwards until she was shouldering Maggie.

"_You're_ a sin!" She said pushing Bradley in the chest so he fell on the pavement. "Go away!"

Bradley got up and walked straight towards the gate, and right out of the schoolyard. It should have been a big, big victory. But Drew staggered around. She'd talked. She'd talked. She'd talked.

Oh no. Oh no.

She put her hands in front of her mouth, arms crossed in front of her chest. She was breathing too quickly.

"Drew, that was amazing!" Ruby said smiling at her. "Nobody can ever make Bradley go away like that!"

Drew was breathing even more quickly. Too, too quickly.

"Drew? Drew?" Mallory asked.

"I have to go get Mrs. Suzanne!" Cassie said before running off.

They had to call paramedics to the school. Drew was breathing too quickly and they couldn't stop her or ask her what was wrong because Mrs. Suzanne had only brought Maggie and Drew inside and Maggie was in another room talking to her mama on the phone and Drew couldn't talk. There were people there.

After ten minutes of Drew breathing way too quickly, they called an ambulance because Drew's head felt funny and her eyes rolled up ones or twice and she couldn't stop breathing that quickly. She was shaking like a leaf and she couldn't stop. She felt like crying but she couldn't because that was noisy and people were around.

The paramedics hooked her up to a machine for her heart and they asked what the problem was but Drew couldn't answer. Even when Miss Louise was holding her hand she couldn't answer. But they calmed her down just in time for Daddy to drive into the parking lot, and so Drew just got picked up and hugged as she started to really feel okay.

* * *

When Sakura asked her if she'd gotten her agenda signed, Drew started shivering really badly. That's why Daddy let Drew stay home from school the next day.

Daddy could work at home for a little bit, so Drew got to sit on the couch and watch cartoons, wrapped in her Tinker Bell blanket and watching cartoons like _Avatar_.

Sakura sat next to her.

Drew curled up on herself and looked away, to a piece of fuzz on the couch.

"You talked yesterday," she said. "That's great."

No it wasn't. It was terrifying. She talked because a boy called her friend's parents horrible people even though Mrs. Harper was the best person in the universe and Mr Harper was a Master Sergeant in the air force and his plane had been shot. She'd had what Daddy and Miss Louise had explained was a 'panic attack' right after. She'd talked because people were cruel about cruel things and she had made herself sick. How was any of it wonderful?

Drew shook her head.

"Right. Of course. You don't care what any of this looks like to an outsider, you don't see the problem with your little condition." Sakura said.

Daddy walked out of his office saying that as soon as she was dressed they could go catch a subway, and Drew nearly cried because he'd come out.

* * *

"Drew," someone called softly. She turned around and saw Cassie.

Drew cocked her head to the side.

"I just want to say that you were really brave with Bradley," she said. "I… I know it was hard for you to talk and you were really upset after, but it was a good thing. And Bradley even got in trouble for leaving school grounds."

Drew still didn't know why he'd listened to her when she'd told him to go away. It was weird.

Cassie was looking at Drew a little scared; as if she thought that she'd messed up.

She took her friend's hand and smiled, before leading her to the play structure so they could go have fun.

* * *

Drew wanted to get a glass of water because her throat was itchy. She walked out of her room with her Tinker Bell blanket around her shoulders. Her feet were cold. When she looked at the big window at the other end of the hallway, just above the living room couch, she smiled, dropped her blanket, and ran to it. She jumped on the couch and sat on the top part, looking through it at the first snow. She smiled and watched the big snowflakes, big snowflakes like snowman-making snowflakes, falling down over everything.

Then she realised that Sakura and Daddy were talking in the kitchen.

She slid down very carefully so that she made no noise, and she walked over to the kitchen door. She peaked through the crack.

Daddy was sitting at the table with his head in his hands.

"I'm so sick of having to get cleared by child services every few months," he said. "I mean, I wouldn't hurt Drew. Ever. And at least her teacher believes me this year, her aid too. I'd get cleared a million times to keep her at home. But it gets tiring. And I _hate _having people think I'd ever do anything to her."

"Child Services can go screw itself," Sakura said. "The people who matter know that you'd never lay a finger on Drew. Never would, never have."

Drew shivered.

"Sliding in isn't working anymore," he said. "The process got bugged once too many. Louise thinks that it's a waste of time."

"Hmm," Sakura said. "Are we sure we can trust this Louise woman? She doesn't seem old enough to have any real experience."

Drew tightened her fingers until her nails hurt her palms, like a dragon biting her hand.

"Of course, Drew loves her." Daddy said. "She talks to Louise all the time."

"Talking doesn't define love," Sakura said. "She doesn't talk to us, but she loves us."

Drew shivered.

"They'll find something else to help her, Jiro." Sakura said. She sounded bored to Drew, but Daddy didn't notice it.

"Sign language isn't convenient, the mystery motivator isn't working…" Daddy sighed. "We've been through all the books- and there aren't that many of them..."

"She's still young." Sakura said.

"Young and precious," Daddy agreed. "I know. I just get worried for the time of her life when smiling at people and taking their hands won't be enough to communicate. High school, middle school even, university if she gets there, and even camp…"

"What do you mean camp?"

"Well, nothing," Daddy stuttered. "It's just something that I thought she might like as a child. You know, spend her summers outside doing outdoor things. Campfires and such." He said quickly.

"Oh," Sakura said. "Well, there's always medication."

"I don't want her on medication," Daddy said. "There should be something else that can work… there has to be something causing this."

"I'm sure you'll find it soon enough."

"I've been trying for three years," Daddy said. "I've barely heard her voice in three years. Her teachers sneak me recordings of her voice and I hear her speak through the piano. What does that say about what kind of father I am? What does that say about how well I know my own daughter?"

Drew felt bad. Then she was angry. But she felt mostly bad for Daddy because it wasn't his fault. She didn't want to keep thinking that.

She pushed the door open and walked into the kitchen. She was chewing on a piece of her hair.

Daddy sat up at the table and smiled, putting his glasses back on. He must've been rubbing his eyes like when he was upset.

"Hello angel," he said with a smile. "Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

She made a 'W' with her three middle fingers, folded her thumb over her pinkie and tapped her index to her lips.

"Thirsty, kiddo? One glass of water for a sleepy little girl coming right up," Daddy said getting up and going to the cupboards. "Do you want the Cinderella cup or the one with the piano keys Auntie Kumiko got you?"

Drew signed for Cinderella by saying 'princess'. She dragged a peace sign from her shoulder, to underneath her throat and then down to her belly button.

He filled her up a cup and tucked her into bed once she was done.

* * *

Miss Katherine was telling them all about a Christmas Show that the school was having. They were going to sell tickets for a dollar to make money for the library and to buy new paintbrushes and maybe a volleyball net for the big kids if they got lucky.

"Every class is going to participate, and some people can audition to present a talent alone as well," she said. "The auditions are with Miss Theresa in her class during lunch next Friday. But for our class specifically: we're going to work with Mr Dominique's class to present _Walking in a Winter Wonderland _with a dance that goes with it."

Usually Bradley would have booed even if all his other friends were in Mr Dominique's class, but he was suspended for now so it was quiet except for a few excited people.

That was the day that the first grade classes started meeting up in the gym and practising a dance.

* * *

They were waiting on the sidewalk near the parking lot, waiting for their parents to come pick them up.

"Are you going to try out for the talent show?" Cassie asked. "Maggie, you could dance. Audrey and Mallory, you too."

"I don't think so," Maggie said. "I don't want to audition. It looks scary."

"Audrey and I don't want to have to make up a whole routine," Mallory said. "We won't."

"That's too bad," Cassie said. "It'd be really cool for one of us to get in the talent show."

She saw Daddy cutting through the parking lot towards them, so she waved goodbye to everyone and jogged away.

* * *

Miss Katherine had told Drew to take her binder and go to the little tiny room where they did 'reading comprehension' evaluations on their own. She was walking across the hallway all by herself when the special ed teacher in the wheelchair that Drew would probably have to talk to when she got in grades 3, 4 and 5 –Mr Chris- and the super quiet big guy in the fifth grade walked by.

"Charles, geometry won't be the end of you I can promise it." Mr Chris said wheeling himself across the hallway.

"Nobody calls me Chris," the guy following him grumbled.

"I refuse to call you by your last name Charles, you know that."

The teacher saw Drew and she tried to shrink.

"You can go to the library and take out all of the homework you need help with," Mr Chris said. The big kid walked into the library alone.

Mr Chris looked at Drew.

"Hello," he said. Drew waved.

"I heard about what you did for your friend. It's heroic, you know."

Drew crinkled her nose. She didn't want to hear that anymore. She was tired of people using that to try and make her _have _to talk. To force her. Like, _you did this thing once now do it all the time consistently _

"Heroism is based on who we are and what limits we have to push." Mr Chris said. "It's hard to understand, I know. Just like it's hard for you to understand that every voice is good to hear, even quiet ones. Even spicy ones."

Drew cocked her head wondering how… how he knew that her voice was spicy? Mr Chris smiled.

"Have a nice day," Mr Chris said kindly before wheeling himself towards the library.

On an instinct, Drew ran to the library door and pulled it open for him. He smiled at her.

"You too," she managed to spit out. Talking to teachers was easier than talking to anybody else.

He smiled at her, his brown eyes twinkled.

"Thank you Drew," he said. "Thank you very much."

* * *

Drew lied in bed. Daddy and Sakura were sleeping, that she knew because she'd heard them kiss goodnight and all the lights were out. It was just her awake.

She opened her mouth.

"This little light of mine," she sang. She stopped and listened. Nobody moved, nobody was awake. "I'm going to let it shine. This little light of mine; I'm gonna let it shine. This little light of mine; I'm gonna let it shine. Let it shine, let it shine, let is shine."

Nobody moved except for Drew. She squirmed under her sheets. The spiciness actually sounded… good.

* * *

Miss Theresa called 'next' at lunch, and Drew let the two girls in front of her go in. Just like she'd let the boy with the guitar, the girl with the tap shoes, the guy with the magic cards, and the group of kids with rhinestone-covered masks. She was nervous. Her stomach was sick. But she didn't want to go, that was for sure.

She walked into the classroom when nobody else was in the hallway.

Miss Theresa looked up and smiled, and then she frowned.

"Hello Drew," Miss Theresa said. "Are you here to dance for me? Or play the piano?"

Drew shook her head. She'd never spoken to Miss Theresa before.

She took a deep breath and opened her mouth and sang.

"O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree,  
Your branches green delight us!  
They are green when summer days are bright,  
They are green when winter snow is white.  
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree,  
Your branches green delight us!

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree  
You fill my heart with music.  
Reminding me on Christmas Day  
To think of you and then be gay.  
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree  
You fill my heart with music."

She stopped. Miss Theresa looked at her in shock and Drew thought that maybe the spiciness scared her until she clapped.

"Drew, that was beautiful. I didn't know that your voice was so pretty."

"Pretty?" Drew asked. It hurt to talk; as if she had a throat ache. Her voice sounded like it too.

"Gorgeous," Miss Theresa said. "I… I wasn't expecting that. To... to hear you."

Drew didn't know what else to say. She pulled her whiteboard from her backpack and wrote down: _is it gorgeous enough for the show?_

"Drew, sweetie I… I'd say that yes, indeed. But it's going to be in front of a lot of people. And I know that you don't like talking to lots of people."

Drew wrote down on her whiteboard that she'd be okay.

"Really?" Miss Theresa asked. "Even if you need a white board to tell me that?"

"Please let me sing," Drew said out loud. Her voice was raspy, but the special spiciness was still there. Drew didn't really pay attention, she just wanted to sing really badly.

"Okay," Miss Theresa said like a zombie. "I'll put your name down."

* * *

Drew was wearing white, like all the other first graders. They looked like an army of snowflakes- a snow storm. That was the idea.

Drew was winding her fists in her dress, very nervous.

She spotted Mr Chris, talking to some fourth graders on the other side of the stage, behind a stage curtain. He turned his head, saw her and smile. He showed her a thumb up. Drew hurried back to the back of the line where she was waiting with her partner Maggie. They held hands and stood behind all the other rows of kids and their partners.

"Are you okay Drew?" Maggie whispered. Drew nodded and turned to look at her. She rubbed her fists together and pointed at Maggie. That was 'how are you' in sign language. Maggie understood a tiny bit of sign language.

"I'm excited," Maggie said. "My mommy does this on a stage every night. I'm going to be just like her."

Drew nodded.

"You are going to be fantastic," Maggie said. Maggie knew that Drew was going to sing- she'd told her last Saturday. Maggie had even pretended to think that Drew could do it- that was how you knew that you had a good friend.

The principal, Mr Hardy, introduced the first graders and then the line started skipping out from the shadow of the curtains and placing themselves at their spots on stage before the words of the music started again. They took each other's hands and pretended to ring bells, listen, sway, walk, and twirl each other around… It was a big, big dance. Some people tripped but Drew didn't. She stayed straight and she made it work. Then they bowed and went back to sit in the front row where all the students were sitting, except for Drew who shook her head when Cassie and Audrey tried dragging her. She had to stay backstage.

Right after the fifth graders did a little sketch about elves in the workshop and before the school's band came and played Jingle Bells and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Mr Hardy went to the podium.

"And now performing her daddy's favourite Christmas carol-"

The parents 'awed' like it was special, unusual or cute for someone to want to make their parents happy.

"- From Miss Katherine's class is six year old Miss Drew Takana."

Drew felt her stomach twist. But she walked to the middle of the stage like she was supposed to, and Mr Hardy gave her the microphone, put a hand on her shoulder and wished her good luck. She couldn't reply anything. She just waited for the music and didn't look at the people in the crowd, holding onto the microphone very, very tightly. She looked at the ceiling, like she did at night when she sang in her bed. She closed her eyes when she sang because she didn't want to see Sakura. She didn't want to see Daddy. She didn't want to miss the music and just stand on the stage with her eyes closed until someone dragged her out. She didn't want Miss Katherine and Miss Louise and Miss Phoebe and all the teachers to start worrying that Drew was onstage and supposed to sing when she never talked in class. She didn't want to be 'selectively mute' or 'special'. She wanted to be spicy.

"Come they told me, pa rum pum pum pum  
A new born King to see, pa rum pum pum pum  
Our finest gifts we bring, pa rum pum pum pum  
To lay before the King, pa rum pum pum pum,  
rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum,

So to honor Him, pa rum pum pum pum,  
When we come."

There was a break in the music but Drew didn't open her eyes. She kept them shut tightly so that she didn't mess up. Nobody was talking in the whole room.

"Little Baby, pa rum pum pum pum  
I am a poor boy too, pa rum pum pum pum  
I have no gift to bring, pa rum pum pum pum  
That's fit to give the King, pa rum pum pum pum,  
rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum,"

Drew thought about her spicy voice. It was a bit cool. Was it a good gift for a King? Was it a good gift for Daddy? Was her voice really the only thing she had and was that a good thing or a bad thing or an okay thing?

"Shall I play for you, pa rum pum pum pum,  
On my drum? Mary nodded, pa rum pum pum pum  
The ox and lamb kept time, pa rum pum pum pum  
I played my drum for Him, pa rum pum pum pum  
I played my best for Him, pa rum pum pum pum,  
rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum,"

Drew was scared out of her mind and she knew that there were only two lines left and that if she messed up it would be really bad… but she opened her eyes anyways.

"Then He smiled at me, pa rum pum pum pum  
Me and my drum."

The first person to stand up and clap was Daddy, and he had a smile on his face and he clapped loudly. Everyone clapped loudly and it startled Drew. It scared her a bit. Sakura finally got up and clapped. Drew didn't know what to do. She looked left and right at the curtain. Then she saw Mr Chris in his wheelchair and he smiled at her. Miss Louise was with him. She smiled so, so brightly and showed two thumbs up and motioned for Drew to bow.

She curtsied, holding the corners of her white dress, and then she gave the microphone back to Mr Hardy.

"Why don't you talk more, Drew?" He asked with a smile on his lips. "You have a very beautiful voice."

Drew didn't answer. She couldn't say why any more than she'd been able to say that she was hungry out loud at lunch today. She just walked off the stage and sat down in the seats, in alphabetical order. Her seat was saved. On her way there she passed by Bradley who looked very scared of her.

She sat down and people didn't say anything except for Maggie who got up and came to hug her.

"You never sang for me like that before!" She said. Drew shrugged and returned the hug.

* * *

After the show Daddy came to pick up Drew backstage. He saw her and dropped to his knees.

She jumped in his arms.

He'd heard her sing –everyone had heard her sing- it was okay wasn't it? Nothing bad happened if she talked to him, right? Everything was okay.

"Oh Drew," he said holding her. "Oh angel, that was… you have an angel's voice. That was beautiful. Just like your mother used to talk. Wow, Drew sweetheart…" He kissed her hair.

It was really okay for him to hear her, right? People said that there were rules that she had about talking to people because of the 'selective mutism' and so was it true that rules could change? If it was there was something she had to say. She had to say it without her hands, without her smile, without her whiteboard.

"I love you Daddy," Drew whispered. Daddy laughed and held her even more tightly.

"I love you too angel," he said. "God, I love you. How did you know that that carol was my favourite?"

"You listen to it all the time at home," Drew said. "We listened to it ten times when we were putting the Christmas tree up."

Dad laughed. "We did, didn't we?"

"Sakura had to make you stop."

"She did," Dad said holding Drew. "Did Miss Louise help you find the right words?"

"They were written on the sheets that Mr Si-" She stopped talking. Sakura walked up to them, holding her purse in the crook of her arm.

"Drew, you sang wonderfully." Sakura said. "Congratulations."

Drew didn't say anything. Daddy looked at her and his smile was gone a little.

"Drew, what do you tell Sakura?"

She didn't want his smile to go. She really didn't. But she couldn't make the words come up. It was exactly like when she'd talked to Maggie backstage. Not like she'd just sang all by herself. She blew a kiss to say thank you in sign language. Daddy's smile slipped for a second, but he forced a smile on his face again. Drew wanted to cry. _So close. So close. She'd actually talked to him! She'd gotten to talk to him! _

"How about we go say thank you and goodbye to Miss Katherine and Miss Louise before leaving," Daddy said. "We can even go get ice cream to celebrate."

Drew nodded and took his hand. His was so much bigger. But she held it tight, and he held her hand and Drew wished that that could tell him a whole bunch of things she wished she could say. _I'm sorry. It's my fault. It's not you. It's my fault. I'm sorry. I love you even when I can't say it._

* * *

Since it was cold out Daddy left Drew and Sakura at home to warm up and put on pajamas while he ran out to get ice cream for everyone.

The door closed and Drew quickly unzipped her coat. She felt it from Sakura- that mean, twisted vibe. Her stepmother was mad. She was angry like a swarm of bees.

But Drew wasn't quick enough to run to her room and change, and Sakura grabbed her wrist before she could wiggle away.

"You little witch," Sakura hissed. "Since when can you do that? Since when can you talk and- and sing and put on a show?"

Drew wanted to whimper because the grip Sakura had on her was too tight and it hurt. But she couldn't make a single sound.

"I know you can do it," Sakura growled. She slapped Drew on the cheek. "I know you can! Do it! _Do it! _Talk! Answer me! Stop making me look like the wicked witch! Stop making me _look bad!_"

Drew tried to squirm away but Sakura slapped her again. "Don't you dare run off."

Drew's eyes were full of tears. She was nearly crying. Without making a sound of course, but crying still. She was so close. She'd gotten to talk to Daddy for a few seconds tonight, but she'd just _known _that that would make Sakura mad. It always did. It always had- since she and Daddy started going out. And when Sakura was mad with Drew...

Her eyes maybe full of tears but she still saw Sakura's hand with the ring glittering on it. And Drew suddenly didn't want to get hit. She somehow knew that this would be harder than ever, and she didn't want to get hurt and she didn't want to have her victory smashed the same night she scored it.

"Stop!" Drew said. Her voice was cracking. Sakura _hated _it when Drew said to stop which was why Drew never did. She sobbed. _"STOP!" _Drew said.

The hand disappeared from Drew's eyes and the grip faded. She heard heels clicking on the floor as if somebody was walking away. When Drew wiped her eyes she saw Sakura, standing far away, pouring herself a glass of water in the kitchen as if nothing had happened. Like a zombie. Oh gosh. Another zombie. Drew ran away to her room.

She sat down on her bed and buried her face in her pillow and cried and cried. And then she stopped crying in the middle of a big ugly tear.

Her voice was special. It had to be. It had made Bradley leave, it had made Miss Theresa put her name down for the talent show, and it had made Sakura stop. It was the spiciness, wasn't it? It had to be. It was the only reason Drew was different from anyone. Either she didn't have her voice, and people like Bradley or Sakura made her feel bad, or she had her voice and it was like she was untouchable. Everyone clapped, nobody was onstage with her to put a hand on her...

She sat up. Why was she crying? It was like she'd just found a gun full of silver bullets. Now Drew knew how to make sure nothing bad ever happened to her again. How to make sure that she was never quiet and helpless again. That nobody hurt her.

It was all in the voice. It was all in Drew's voice.

And Drew would always have her voice. She would make sure. She'd start talking to Sakura so that she could talk at school and make sure that she would always be able to use it. She would always be able to protect herself with her voice.

_No matter what. _


End file.
